#ThePeopleOfJalsa
Is God not sufficient for His servant?
Some of you may recall our #peopleofjalsa feature last year with Tahir Ahmed, who at the time was undergoing treatment for cancer. We caught up with him again this year to see how he was doing.. Read on to learn more about his story:
I have received news today that I am Alhamdulillah cancer free. This journey has been a blessing as it brought me closer to Allah and helped me become stronger so that I am able to face anything that comes before me InshaAllah.
Cancer is a very lonely place as you become almost isolated due to having to rest and constantly be present at treatment. But Allah has been with me throughout my ordeal. I can actually confidently say that I have felt His presence. I have heard Him. I have gotten so close to Him that now I cannot imagine myself without Him. Every hardship is not meant to be bad for you. Every difficulty you go through makes you stronger, broadens your perspective and builds your character. In my case, I have achieved all three plus nearness to God. From day one, I have always perceived this illness to be Allah’s way of purifying me and exchanging the pain for my sins.
Alhamdulillah, I may be cancer free now, but InshAllah the jihad of self reform will always continue for me. I want people to learn to train their mind to not stress about any difficulties they will face. Just always keep faith in the One who can change anything and everything. Just try your best with your God given ability to resolve the issues in your life. And whatever is not in your hands, is in His. He will resolve them for you. Although this experience has been the best of my life, I would not wish it upon anyone else. It is not easy, I must admit, but with the Almighty at your support it’s not impossible. Be always grateful, regardless of the situation you may be in. The best way to show your gratitude is through patience and steadfastness.
Continuously concentrate on fulfilling the rights of the Creator and the rights of His creation. Ask yourself: “Is God not sufficient for His servant?”
The Newbie
I am from Canada, from when i can remember I’ve always wanted to attend the UK Jalsa. Alhamdulillah I have been blessed to be able to attend my first UK Jalsa and its an extra special occasion as its the 50th anniversary. I am most looking forward to the ba’ait at the hand of our beloved Huzoor to refresh my faith
The Writer
I always carry my laptop with me to all events. I write everything I can down because this is how I remember. The more I write the more it imprints in my mind, especially if it’s the wise words of our Huzoor. As a Murabbi this is very important for me and I vouch for this technique. I always tell everyone that asks me how to gain knowledge to try this method.
The Award
When I was notified that I was going to get an Academic award of excellence at the Jalsa this year, I couldn’t believe it at first. This made me feel very humbled at the thought of receiving such an award at the hands of our beloved Khalifa. Previously my older sister had received the gold medal from Huzoor twice. So it was an unexpected surprise for my family that I was going to be a recipient of this blessing as well. As I went on to the stage, Huzoor recognized me and inquired about my brother’s health. To which I responded that Alhamdulilah he is feeling much better now. Walking off the stage I was overcome with emotion with the realization of what had just occurred. I feel extremely honoured that our beloved Huzoor took the time to present me with this award and remembered my brother Mazhar Ahsan Ahmad. Receiving the award today made me feel very privileged. Alhamdulilah such are blessings of Khilafat.
Stadium
“One day I think Jalsa will be held in Wembley stadium”, “Wait, what?” “I mean, the past 50 years are more indicative of the progress of the Jamaat, coming from humble beginnings … Just seeing photos of the earliest Jalsas, held in the presence of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III (ra), Chaudhry Zafrullah Khan Sahib, and 100 other people max, really puts into perspective the humble beginnings we have come from. Actually there was a Jalsa in Hounslow, one of the earliest in the UK, held in a school where I taught about a year ago. There are some elders who actually remember the scale of the Jalsa, then Jalsa moved to Baitul Fazl, and now we’re at Hadeeqatul Mahdi. We had a few Jalsas here and thought, this place will never fill up, and every year it feels fuller and fuller … so maybe at my 50th Jalsa we’ll be in Wembley.”
Master Abdur Rab
“I have been to Jalsa led by four Khulafa now Alhamdulilah”. “That’s incredible, can you recall your favourite one?” “There are roses, each rose has its own fragrance and its own specific colour, each Jalsa was a different rose. I have no favourite.”
Micronesia
“I was playing 3 on 3 and nobody on my team would pass to me, simply because I’m Muslim.” “So you faced discrimination everywhere?” “Even while playing basketball … We walked into Micronesia like we would into Rabwah, but we received a reaction we never could have predicted. Our radio program was banned, the people threw stones at us, and once I was even refused sweets at a shop. The water to the Masjid was cut off and a drought was forecast, so I wrote to Huzoor (atba) asking what we should do. Huzoor (atba) wrote back to me saying, ‘Fear not, keep doing Tabligh’, so that’s what we did. Eventually we went to speak to the Mayor and other governing members regarding the water being cut off, and instead of listening to our concerns, they told us to pack up our things and leave the island. After we finished the meeting, as I was walking out, it started to rain, and so it did for the next six months. The Jamaat is 20 people strong now Alhamdulillah, that is just one of the many miracles we have witnessed.”
“Inshallah the Jamaat will grow stronger, and you’ll be passed the ball too.”
Twinning
“I try to teach me nephew lessons I learned from my childhood, things that I’ve learned growing up with my brother.” “Give me an example of something you’ve learned.” “At times where I opened presents and thought they were just for me to play, but with time I learned that it was less about the toy and more so about the experiences of playing with my twin brother. So I try my best to tell my nephew the same.”
“Did you mean to wear the same thing today then? Looks like you’ve got a new twin.”
Hospitality
Thousands of Ahmadis travel from all over the world to experience the spiritual blessings of Jalsa Salana in the UK. Men, ladies, children and the elderly all take the long journey to Hadeeqatul Mahdi. So when they arrive at the ID Gate and go through the security checks, the Hospitality team is ready to welcome the guests and look after their comfort. We spoke with Khalida Farrukh Sheikh who is Nazima Hospitality. She explained that her team would start working from Thursday morning. When the guests arrive, they would help them with their luggage and transfer them to the accommodation area with the help of the buggies. They would also help the mothers with young children and the elderly, by providing them with chairs to sit and water to drink if the wait for buggies is long. Their ultimate aim is to provide the guests a comfortable start to their experience at Jalsa Gah.
Cleanliness is Half of Faith
Jalsa Connect team met with two very enthusiastic boys who were doing litter picking duty. Rafael (8 years old) and Mikael (6 years old). Their mother who was also doing duty with them told us that it was the first time these boys were doing a duty at Jalsa Salana. Even at this young age they are partaking in this blessed event by devoting their time towards this duty because of the high value of khidmat-e-khalq instilled in them. The boys feel a sense of pride in volunteering for the Jalsa Salana and hope that by next year they will be able to do something more challenging.
Unsung Heroes
As we were patrolling the grounds, looking for someone to talk to, we came across a lady on cleanliness duty and asked her how she was doing so far. She said she was mentally prepared for this duty after listening to Huzoor’s khutbas. She felt that she was offering the true spirit of sacrifice. Her passion and dedication was heart warming. Although she has young children and a disabled relative attending the jalsa, being able to offer her duty is of utmost importance to her. May we all be able to understand the true sacrifice of serving the community of the Promised Messiah (as). Ameen.
Be Yourself
I rarely get to meet my Jamaat friends so I look forward to it at Jalsa. A lot of them find my style outrageous but I always say it’s better to be yourself than follow a trend! It gives my friends and I something to laugh and joke about, you know? Break the ice since we haven’t seen each other for almost the whole year. This year the look is much simpler though!
Spiritual nourishment
I’m training as a fighter. I’ve had a couple of amateur fights and I have my professional debut later this year, but it requires intense training. As hard as it is, I am sacrificing my 10K morning runs, my boxing sessions and MMA sessions for these three days. It might not seem like a lot, but in this sport, everyday counts. Spiritual nourishment is more important than physical though. I wouldn’t change skipping Jalsa for any other event.
The Police Officer
Being a police officer brings discipline to my life. It’s a blessing to be a part of a team which is direct security of Huzoor. ERT (Emergency Response Team) is small but consists of the highest level of discipline, response time and situation management. If you saw me in my day to day life, you’d see a different person! But I know where and when to get into this mode.
